Telecommunication cables are ubiquitous and used for distributing all manner of data across vast networks. As telecommunication cables are routed across data networks, it is necessary to periodically connect the cable to other cables or equipment.
At each point where a cable connection is made, it may be necessary to provide protection for the cable connection and to protect the cable interfaces from environmental contaminants. This can be accomplished by wrapping the cable connection in a tape or mastic and/or placing the cable connection in a protective enclosure. Commonly, the enclosure has one or more ports through which cables can enter and/or exit the enclosure. Once the cables are routed into the enclosure, the cable connections can be made.
Typical enclosures for the telecommunications market provide mechanical and/or environmental protection for cable connections. The cable can, for example, be a telecommunications cable, a power cable, an optical fiber cable, coaxial cable, or any other type of cable. The cable connection can be made via a conventional splice or a connector and may require protection from the effects of the environment in which it is located and, more particularly, benefits from protection against mechanical impact and the entry of moisture, dirt, salt, acid rain, or other environmental contaminants.
Many different types of enclosures providing different levels of protection for cable splices are commercially available, including so-called re-enterable enclosures that can be re-opened to permit access to the splice whenever required. These conventional telecommunication enclosures are often employed to protect a plurality of twisted pair copper splices and/or fiber optic connections in the outside plant telecommunications market. These closures can be relatively large and bulky and are not well suited to applications requiring a single closure to protect a single connection point between two or more communication cables, between a cable and a housing (e.g. a cabinet, a bulkhead, a larger enclosure or housing for a piece of equipment) or between a cable and a piece of equipment, especially when the cable connections are densely placed or ganged connections such as one might find in cell tower installations. Thus, a need exists for a smaller, more craft friendly enclosure which will fit in tight spaces and which has improved workability in the field.